Animal Welfare Commissioner Emmanuel Buhagiar has raised concerns over recent pigeon cullings, questioning whether this was a humane way of dealing with the ‘fowl problem’.

“Shooting pigeons is technically understood as being a humane method, as the birds die instantly when shot in the head. However, we don’t know whether all these birds are being shot in the head,” Mr Buhagiar told the Times of Malta.

He said some residents had complained of injured birds flying into ventilation shafts to die after being shot during the culling.

He was contacted for his reaction to plans for further pigeon culling to be carried out, this time in Floriana, following that held recently in Cospicua and Lija.

Pigeon culling has been carried out in several localities following complaints from residents, with one planned for Valletta.

The culling is being coordinated by the Health Department, with groups of men with air rifles, escorted by police, shooting the unwanted birds. Questions sent to the Health Ministry about what licencing is required to participate in a culling exercise had not been replied to by the time of writing.

A seasoned animal welfare officer, Mr Buhagiar said he would “personally” prefer it if the birds were captured in cages, treated and neutered chemically before being released.

“One of the major problems that these birds have is that they breed regularly, and when they are stray, they carry a lot of diseases. But, you can treat this,” Mr Buhagiar said.

The first culling, carried out earlier this month near the old Rialto cinema in Cospicua, was also criticised by ornithologist Natalino Fenech. “This is just a short-term measure. In a few months the pigeon population will be back to what it was before,” he said.

Cospicua Mayor Alison Zerafa Civelli said the exercise had been conducted by the Health Department after it received complaints about what one resident described as a “flying rat infestation”.

Ms Zerafa Civelli said the council had also received complaints about the situation but could do little to quell the pigeon population rise.

“We received notice from the authorities requesting the police’s assistance,” she said. Mr Fenech insisted, meanwhile, that such measures were not effective solutions. He said there were three things the authorities could do to keep the pigeons in check; controlling nesting sites, limiting their food supply and using contraceptive feed.

Mr Fenech said pigeons would use abandoned buildings and roof lofts to nest and these could be sealed off. Ensuring scraps of bread were not left out for them to dine on was also important.